Wednesday 6^th March

Joshua 6:1-21

Nobody likes to read about war. War saddens my heart. In fact sometimes when I read some of the Old Testament stories, as we have been discovering this last week, there is the harsh reality that God commanded people to be killed at the hands of mighty men of valour such as Joshua. The truth is that opposing God only has one end. It is hard to fathom yet when we understand God’s holy and divine character, we realise that no matter who you are, we all fall short of God’s glory. The only difference between saint and sinner is the recognition of that fact and being reconciled to the Father through accepting Christ’s atoning work on the cross. So we no longer are enemies of God but friends of God, no longer face the wrath of God but abide in His grace. 

The simple truth is that this was the case with Israel’s enemies. They opposed God and His people. They built altars and worshipped false idols. They replaced the Almighty Creator God with created beings of no worth and value. Because of their rebellion there was only one end! Utter destruction at the hands of the Joshua’s army. In fact God commanded that they utterly destroy all living creatures and livestock. We read in verse 21 of the account of Jericho’s devastating defeat. The victory had been won and Joshua’s men and were triumphant. The only people who were saved from God’s judgement on Jericho, were Rahab and her family. God had brought His justice on the land and given His chosen people their first victory in the Promised Land and the beginning of the covenantal promise He had made to Abraham, Moses, Isaac and Jacob. 

Why have we explored this subject today? Well, in essence the reality of war and death, especially at the command of God’s Words, are hard to swallow and understand. However, it is important to remind and encourage ourselves with the truth that God is sovereign and He is with us when we face adversary and hardships. The end result may not be the same as in Old Testament times as we now live under the banner of grace but God’s desire to see His creations living in purity, obedience and holiness is still as strong today and it was then.

Let this then be the encouragement for you today. That it is not too late to turn back to God and let Him have the victory in your life. It is not too late to make your peace with a Jealous and Holy God who desires your full love and adoration. He never gives up on you. He never gave up on Israel. It is we who give up on Him just as Israel did. But there is hope. God is for us and not against us. He wants us to draw near to Him. He wants us to step out in faith and receive the blessings He has for us. I leave you with these song lyrics from Matt Redman in his inspired song, Never Once. Remember God is faithful and He fights for us.

Kneeling on this battle ground

Seeing just how much You’ve done

Knowing every victory

Was Your power in us

 Scars and struggles on the way

But with joy our hearts can say

Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone

Never once did You leave us on our own

You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Tuesday 5^th March

Joshua 6:1-21

 Yesterday’s devotion took the focus off Joshua’s abilities or strengths as a leader and focused entirely on God’s provision for him and his people through the ‘commander of the Lord’s army.’ Today, the focus is still God’s victory, but through an obedient vessel willing to hear what God says and act upon His unconventional tactics.

As Joshua converses with the Lord as to how they will defeat Jericho, those inside the walled city are trembling in fear. A great expectation about the Israelites imminent attack had fallen upon the people of Jericho. They had heard of Israel’s great victories through God’s provision and were doing everything they could to defend themselves from the mighty hand of the Lord. Verse 1 says that they were so afraid that all access both into the city and out of it were locked up as a method of defence.

 The Lord again reminds Joshua that he goes into the battle with a 100% guarantee of victory. See when God is with us the odds are always in our favour even when circumstance might say otherwise. Moses’ parting words to Joshua to be strong and courageous were now paramount to this young leader as he prepared his troops for battle and received his tactical orders from the Lord.

Verse 3 -7 tells us how Joshua was to defeat Jericho and penetrate their protective walls. God commanded Joshua to send 7 priests and the ark covenant to walk around Jericho’s walls once a day for 6 days. Then on the seventh day, Joshua and the priests were to march around the walls 7 times. On the seventh time they were to blow their ram’s horns and shout in a loud voice. Then the walls of this fortified city would collapse and they were to charge and claim their victory. Now if God said I want you to walk around the city, blow a horn and shout, would you really think that victory was possible? YES!! Why? Because God had said it would happen. That was the assurance Joshua had. What God says He will do, that is exactly what will happen. Joshua had full confidence in his orders and relayed that exact message to his troops. Sure enough in verses 12-20 the victory was theirs. The walls of the mighty city of Jericho crumbled to the floor and their enemy was defeated. The victory had been won.

 Looking back at this story and Joshua’s journey with God, it is clear to see that his faith never wavered as he had a full assurance in God’s promise and His voice. He had ears to hear and the confidence to act upon God’s word. We may not have to ever face a situation of Jericho’s size or have to cross the Red Sea by foot by we know that in whatever situation we are faced with, both big and small, we can have full assurance that when God promised He would never leave us or forsake us, He meant. His presence goes before us and in Him the victory is won. God has issued the victory cry and shouts over us in triumph. Go and walk in your victory.

Monday 4th March

Joshua 5-13-15

I hate losing. I am super competitive. In fact I would probably say that I am a really sore loser too. To be honest it’s quite sad. I wish I wasn’t but I am. However there is one benefit to not wanting to lose. The benefit is, that in life’s challenges, when tough times come, I can just call on God to fight for me and He never loses. It is like the ultimate trump card. You get Him and you will always win. The funny thing is, is that too often when tough times do come, instead of drawing on Christ’s victorious powers, we fight in our strength and wonder why we get knocked down. In essence it is easy. Tough times = call on God’s strength = victory. However, the unfortunate reality is…tough times = fight in my own strength = lose.

I want to encourage you today from this story in Joshua found in this 5^th chapter. I want you to know that God fights for us and when He does, victory is guaranteed. It is not to say that we will never face hard times. On the contrary, of course we will. However we can be reassured that if we allow God to fight for us, then victory is guaranteed. Why? Because Jesus has already won it on the cross!!

Joshua chapter 5 ends in the most dramatic way. The crescendo is coming. The battle of Jericho is almost upon them. The Israelites have just finished observing Passover for the first time in the Promised Land. As Joshua was readying his troops to lay siege on Jericho in verse 13, a man appears before him with a drawn sword. Joshua asks the obvious question of whose side he was on. Interestingly the answer was NO. It is quite a comical answer actually. “NO” didn’t differentiate between the sides. However what this man did state was that he was the COMMANDER of the armies of the Lord. That was of great importance. There has been great speculation as to who this man was. What we can know of the identity of this man from the text is that Joshua realised whoever it was was Holy and he humbled himself before him. Joshua recognises that he is LORD and takes his sandals off his feet in reverence of His authority.

How can this be applicable in our lives? What relevance does this sword drawn character have in our everyday battle? The truth is that whoever this was was sent by God to fight for Joshua. The Lord was on Joshua’s side. He commanded them to conquer Jericho and He promised to be with them. God sent an encouragement to Joshua to show that He was with him as He had promised and that Joshua didn’t have to fight in his own strength but just to walk in the victory that God had already prepared for them. The relevance of a drawn sword is not that of violence but that of the Lord’s protection on our behalf. He fights for us. The battle is not yours but the Lords. Don’t try and take His place. He will send protection for you as He sent the commander of the Lord’s army for Joshua. When God is for us we won’t lose.

Tough times = God’s strength and victory = Guaranteed victory

Saturday 2nd March

Joshua 5:11-12

Sometimes when you are in a bad mood, God uses the smallest things to encourage us and remind us of His faithfulness. Yesterday was a prime example of this. Whilst I was wallowing in self-pity and agonising to my self, a small cute little sparrow flew down in front of me. At that point God reminded me of the song lyric ‘His eye is on the sparrow’ and the verse of God’s protection and provision of a sparrow in Matthew 10. I realised that no matter what I am going through, God is with me, will never leave me or forsake me and that His gracious hand of provision will always be stretched outwards towards me. If He looks after the sparrow then surely He will provide for me.

It seemed fitting to include that example as we look at today’s passage of God’s provision for the Israelites. As we mentioned yesterday, God’s promise to Joshua and to the rest of His people, was that He would finally lead them into the promised land but first they had to cross the river Jordan. However, yet again, God showed His power and majesty by parting the river so His people could cross over safely. His presence (in the form of the ark of the covenant) went before and stayed standing in the river until all people had passed. Remember that God goes before you to prepare your way and whilst you are walking though a challenging period in your life, He stays with you so you can safely cross over to the other side. In both the good and hard times, God’s promise is still the same as it was with Joshua ‘I will be with you always’.

So after they crossed over the Jordan and re-established their covenant with God through circumcision, the Israelites observe Passover!! This is something that probably was not a regular occurrence whilst they journeyed through the wilderness (although mentioned once in Numbers 9). Yet here we see the first communal Passover taking place after they crossed over into the Promised Land. Interestingly, this was the first food they had eaten since God started providing manna for them. Verse 12 states that on the day they ate the food of the land of Canaan, God’s divine provision of manna for the Israelites ceased.

Amazingly God had provided for His children in the dry and barren desert for 40 years and now here again God’s divine provision for His children is shown. Not only did He lead them into the Promised Land (to that land that He promised His chosen people), but once there provided for them. He said He will lead them to a land flowing with milk and honey and He did. He said He would make a way for them and He did. He said He would never leave or forsake His people and He didn’t leave them. God does what He says He will do. Trust Him, trust His words and trust that wherever He leads you, He will be with you!